Hey Denise.....a big welcome to the board! This is indeed an awesome place with great folks.
You will find all kinds of info and support......and someone who understands almost anything you might encounter along the way. It's good that you have some hesitation. This surgery is a major decision, and contrary to popular belief, does NOT do all the work for you and make you skinny.
But at first it does do all or most of the work for you, and it is so freeing as the weight drops, and it is so motivating. The keys to success, in my opinion, are to make sure you have support (this board is an awesome start), work on your head and behaviors of why you overate in the past, then focus on maintaining a healthy lifestyle and following the guidelines. The surgery will always be there to help you, but as the months go by you really have to take on more of the work. But if you are committed, then this time absolutely WILL be different. The journey is filled with ups and downs, but is truly amazing!
I'm new and glad I found this site
Hi, my name is Denise. I'm 53 and have been having an uphill battle with my weight since my early teens. I managed to stay 30-40 pounds overweight for years until my 30's and then every year more and more. I am now 330 pounds on a 5'4" medium built frame. That's roughly about 200 pounds overweight. I'm still borderline diabetic and my blood pressure is still normal, however my knees are shot. They are pure bone-on-bone; I need 2 total knee replacements. I can no longer work because I can no longer walk without the use of a walker. My time has come. I don't know why I've waited so long. August 10th is the 1st of 3 initial nutrition counseling sessions that my insurance requires that I attend. From there I imagine I meet with a surgeon; I'm not quite sure what the protocol is. I need to lose some of the weight before the doctors will even consider the knee replacements. I'm facing a challenging couple of years ahead. I've been going through a lot of anxiety these past couple of weeks thinking about the bypass surgery; wondering if I'll fail like I have at all the diets. That's why today I made it my mission to look up success stories; that's how I found this forum. What a difference in my mind-set now. I've read many stories just like mine. People with the same concerns and fears as I am having. It's funny how we think we're the only one's who feel a certain way. So now I feel much better having read the stories of the people just like myself battling obesity and winning. 
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